SAN FRANCISCO – Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, is planning a fresh round of layoffs and will cut thousands of employees as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The world’s largest social networking company is eliminating more jobs, on top of a 13 per cent reduction in November 2022, in a bid to become a more efficient organisation. In its earlier round of cuts, Meta slashed 11,000 workers in what was its first major layoff.

The company has also been working to flatten its organisation, giving buyout packages to managers and cutting whole teams it deems non-essential, Bloomberg News reported in February, a move that is still being finalised and could affect thousands of staff.

The imminent round of cuts is being driven by financial targets and is separate from the “flattening”, said the people.

Meta, which has seen a slowdown in advertising revenue and has shifted focus to a virtual reality platform called the metaverse, has been asking directors and vice-presidents to make lists of employees who can be let go, the people said.

A Meta spokesman declined to comment on the plans on Monday.

This phase of layoffs could be finalised next week, according to the people. Those working on the plan are hoping to have it ready before chief executive Mark Zuckerberg goes on parental leave for his third child, which may be imminent, one person said.

The November cuts were a surprise, but another round of firings has been widely anticipated by the Meta workforce. Mr Zuckerberg has dubbed 2023 Meta’s “year of efficiency”, and the company has been communicating that theme to employees during performance reviews, which were completed last week, the people said.

Workers at the Menlo Park, California-based company described heightened anxiety and low morale among colleagues lately.

Some employees expressed worry about whether they would receive their bonuses, which are set to be distributed in March, if they lose their jobs beforehand, the people said.

BLOOMBERG